


hey, oh my God! (he’s a really bad boy)

by consistently_inconsistent



Series: skz fics ☞ for the soul [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Angst, Angst and Humor, Attempt at Humor, Bad Boy Lee Minho | Lee Know, Cheating, Cliche, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fraternities & Sororities, Han Jisung | Han is Oblivious, Insomniac Bang Chan, Jealous Lee Minho | Lee Know, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, References to Addiction, Sex Addiction, Smoking, also minho will probably get jealous at some point, fuck i can't believe im spoiling my own fic, he's is also oblivious, i guess, isn't that fun, its actually not that angsty, its not really heavy at all but it's there, jisung is an orphan, jisung is angry yAy, kind of, minho changbin and hyunjin are frat bois, minho is kinda a dick at first, oof this got dark out of nowhere, rated t because of substance abuse and references to other adictions, we love a jelous boii, what i told you miho is kinda a dick at first
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2019-11-23 17:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18154598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/consistently_inconsistent/pseuds/consistently_inconsistent
Summary: Jisung had grown up travelling from house to house and family to family, but he'd only ever found a home in Bang Chan and his rag tag group of washed out college friends.Seungmin with his sharp tongue and hidden goofiness, Felix with his broad grins and contagious laughter, Woojin with his careful words and perfectly timed smiles and newcomer Jeongin, who started out so shy and ended up so playful. Chan, ultimately, kept them all together - all kind eyes and comforting words. The four of them were somewhat of a family and they'd welcomed Jisung with open arms, and for that he was eternally grateful.So, when Chan got caught up in a particularly messy and particularly painful break up, Jisung found himself angrily marching up to the Stray Kids frat house, slapping Lee Minho, and leaving without a word.//Minho cheats on Chan, Chan is sad, Jisung is mad, and in a twist of fate Minho finds himself slack jawed in his frat house as a cute boy he's never seen walks up to him, slaps him (hard), and walks away.





	1. dive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Chan Hyung,” Jisung pleaded. From his side Felix spoke up, “please, please, please tell us what’s wrong, Hyung.”
> 
> Chan let out a deep sigh and he brought his hands over his face. 
> 
> “He cheated on me.”

Chan didn’t cry when it happened.

He never did. That was just Chan - he always had to be strong for everyone else, but he’d never let anyone else be strong for him.

Nevertheless, his distress was apparent. He’d walked into his and Woojin’s shared apartment with fists, his nails digging into his palms, and stiff, angry, footsteps. His face was devoid of its usual perpetually uplifting smile, instead it was sad and cold, almost blank. Chan’s eyes, that usually shined endearingly, were dull and sad and everything Jisung knew them not to be. In that moment he seamed nothing like the Chan Jisung had gotten to know over the past two years.

Jisung had met Chan in his first year of College.

Felix, one of Chan’s long-term friends, had been paired up with Jisung for the dorms and the two had become fast friends. Felix and Jisung were similar in many ways, with a common love for Zico and G-Dragon and similarly bright smiles and brighter personalities - their birthdays were also just a day apart, Felix had deemed them platonic soulmates and they’d become friends pretty much instantly.

So, Felix introduced Jisung to the rest of his friends: four other boys who’d all apparently known each other since high school - Seungmin, who was now in his second year just like Jisung, and Chan and Woojin, who were now in their fourth years. Finally there was Jeongin, who had been in his last year of high school when Jisung first met him but was now in his first year of college and attending the same school as Jisung, Felix, Seungmin, Woojin and Chan.

The four of them were somewhat of a family and had been for a long time. They’d welcomed Jisung with open arms, and for that he was eternally grateful to each and every one of them.

Seungmin with his sharp tongue, obsession with Day6 - one of the city’s local bands, and secret goofiness; Felix with his broad grins, baby voice hidden underneath his deep baritone, and full, contagious, laughter; Woojin with his careful words, unadulterated love for chicken, and perfectly timed smiles; and Jeongin, who started out so shy and ended up so playful, with his love for old Trot songs and dying his hair different shades of red and brown but never anything else.

Chan, ultimately, kept them all together - all kind eyes, corny jokes, and comforting words. He was possibly the closest thing Jisung had ever had to an older brother, almost father-like in his treatment of his friends.

Jisung had grown up in the foster system. His childhood had been spent moving from house to house and family to family, but he'd only ever found a home in Bang Chan and his rag tag group of washed out college friends. He loved them and he was thankful for having them in his life every single day. (Every time he told one of them so they’d grin and say that they were the ones who were thankful to have him in their lives, Jisung would smile and the conversation would always end in a tight hug.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which is why Jisung found himself so, so, so mad when Chan - strong, brave, caring Chan - walked into the apartment looking like he was close to falling apart and told his friends about what had happened.

Felix and Jisung had been chilling at Woojin and Chan’s apartment that day (Woojin had promised chicken and who were they to refuse. Free food was free food, particularly when you were broke and in college). The three of them were laughing about this or that, Felix was complaining about his photography assignments, while Jisung was claiming his art projects were much worse and Woojin was saying neither of them knew the half of it until they took journalism and literature. In the middle of this meal the door had crashed open taking all of them by surprise, and Chan had slumped into the apartment.

Silence had fallen as Woojin, Felix and Jisung took in Chan. The Music Production Major had a shadow over his face, his eyes were angry and numb at the same time and he was clenching the straps of his backpack so hard Jisung worried he’d tear them apart. Chan had never been very good at hiding his emotions, but usually he didn’t need too. He was usually happy and bright, that was just Chan.

This did not seam like Chan.

“Chan?” Woojin had asked, worry evident on his face and voice cautious, “what’s wrong?”

Chan looked up then, straight at Woojin. (The five of them were all very close but Woojin and Chan were something else all together, best friends since kindergarten and all that). Chan’s lips quivered and he blinked aggressively as if willing his tears not to fall. They didn’t. With Chan they never did, and he always seemed to be trying his hardest to make sure they never would.

He walked up to the table where they all sat. The silence was comfortable, but scared and heavy. The three boys had their eyes glued to Chan, wide and scared for the boy as he sat down next to Woojin, facing Felix and Jisung.

“Chan Hyung?” Felix asked, voice soft and cautious. Woojin placed a hand on Chan’s shoulder, the blonde kept his eyes glued to the table and Woojin shot the two younger boys a worried look before looking back at Chan.

“Channie,” Woojin said again, “Please tell us what’s wrong.”

Chan tended to have a ripple effect on the group of five. Jisung could see it clearly now. He felt his own carefree happiness from before turn into fear and worry and even anger, aimed at whoever had made Chan feel like this. He saw it on Felix and Woojin’s faces as well and Felix reached forward and gave Chan’s hands a little squeeze. They never needed to remind one another that whatever had happened could be said without judgement or fear, the relationship was just liked that.

“Channie,” Woojin said, yet again, slower this time, “Please?”

He gave Chan’s shoulder a little squeeze.

Chan sucked in a deep, trembling breath and looked up. Looking from Jisung to Felix to Woojin, giving each of them the slightest of smiles before the edges of his mouth dropped once again and his lips matched his sad eyes. He sighed and blinked his eyes repeatedly, “okay,” he said, “okay.”

His voice was raw and soft at the same time. Meek and angry both. Jisung reached over and squeezed Chan’s other palm, the one that wasn’t being clutched by Felix. “Chan Hyung,” Jisung pleaded. From his side Felix spoke up, “please, please, please tell us what’s wrong, Hyung.”

Chan let out a deep sigh and he gently pulled his hands out of Felix and Jisung‘s and brought them over his face, covering his eyes.

“He cheated on me.”

There was silence for a second.

Then disbelief.

Then anger.

Woojin was the first to say anything, eyes large and eyebrows raised. “Minho? Lee Minho?” He said, voice quiet but on the verge of snarling. Woojin’s voice always got like that when he got mad. Woojin was very scary when he was mad. No one messed with Woojin when he was mad.

Felix spoke up next, his typically delicate, almost feminine, features twirling into an angry scowl. “What the fuck,” he spat, voice dripping with venom, “why? With who? I thought you guys were doing good! I swear to god the next time I see him I’m gonna-“

“Calm down, Lix,” Jisung breathed out, despite being in the exact same mind frame. Jisung knew full well that Chan hated when any of them got like this. Fortunately, Felix also knew this outburst wasn’t what Chan wanted and stopped as soon as he could, Jisung was just better at handling his emotions than Felix was. Felix calmed ever so slightly and Chan shot Jisung a thankful nod. Felix continued, “Hyung,” he said with bated breath, “What did he do?”

Chan let out a deep sigh.

“So you all know about Alpha Phi’s crazy parties or whatever right?” Chan asked. The three nodded, Jisung and Felix had gone to the Alpha Phi parties many times. Jisung reminded himself to not go there until Chan was happy and dating someone far superior to Lee Minho, or he would punch the frat boy right then and there, in the middle of one of Alpha Phi’s raging parties.

Felix might stab the frat boy right then and there, in the middle of one of Alpha Phi’s raging parties.

Chan continued, “Basically they had one of those big parties last Sunday and, well, apparently my boyfriend decided to stick his tongue down Jeon Jungkook’s throat.”

“How do you know?” Jisung asked, cautiously.

“Jungkook told me.”

“Huh?”

Chan sighed, “it’s not his fault at all, really, he had no idea we were together.” He paused for a second and the three others shot him worried looks. “Anyway, so we were talking because we had a lecture together and some time to spare before the professor came in and he starts going on about how he’d kissed this guy at a party in Alpha Phi name Minho, completely unaware that the two of us were a thing, and like that was that.”

Chan groaned, “I can’t believe I thought he was a good guy, like everybody fucking warned me and like-” He was rambling now.

“So that’s what happened?” Woojin asked, effectively cutting off Chan’s monologue with an eyebrow raised.

“No there’s more.”

“Oh god,” Jisung said. There was more, of course there was more.

“So basically I told Jungkook me and Minho were dating,” Chan said, “ and like he’s a good guy and he’s known me way longer than he’s known Minho so he believed me. But, he also said that no one else knew that Minho and I were a thing and apparently Minho had been kissing people left and right for a while now.” Chan took a deep breath.

“So me and Kook asked around, like we asked if Minho was in a relationship and literally no one said yes. But, somehow most of the people we asked said no and then went on to say that a friend of theirs had just hooked up with him or something along those lines.”

“So you broke up with him?” Woojin asked, hand still resting gently on Chan’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Chan breathed out, “Called him up, told him I knew he cheated on me and that we were done and cut the call before he could say anything.” Jisung grins, serves him right. “He didn’t even deny it. Didn’t even text me or try to call me after or even fucking apologise,” Chan said, and Jisung’s grin melted off, “Everyone told me Minho was an shady person, guess I should’ve listened.”

“Fucking hell,” Jisung breathed out, “I always knew frat boys were dicks but i didn’t know they were this fucking bad.”

Chan chuckled dryly, “Language, Sungie.”

“Korean,” Felix supplied unhelpfully.

Chan cracked a smile and let out a small chuckle. “I’m actually not as mad as I was like ten seconds ago. Thanks Lix, Sungie, you two may be dumb but you know how to make me laugh.” Felix and Jisung didn’t even deny it, too relieved by the fact that Chan was no longer the angry mess he had been when he first walked in. Said boy sighed, “But on another note I really should have seen this coming. Everyone warned me about dating him, I guess it was only a matter of time.”

“Hey don’t let him go that easy,” Woojin said, “don’t chalk it down to ‘that’s just how he is’ what he did was very wrong and he should know that.” Ever the responsible one, that was Woojin. Felix was a lot less helpful, “yeah what Woojin said. Also! You should totally punch him - or me and Sung can do it for you! Like give him a couple bruises and maybe a black eye - ooh, Sung we could give him a wedgie! I bet we’d be great at it.”

Jisung shot his roommate an incredulous look, “you really think,” he said, “the you and me could do a better job of beating up a frat boy than Chan?” He raised an eyebrow, “you do realise Chan could probably bench press both of us at the same time, right?”

Felix shrugged with a grin, “kinky,” he said simply.

Chan and Woojin broke into loud chuckles and Felix and Jisung followed them soon after. They didn’t bring up Lee Minho again for the rest of the evening, instead, the evening was spent in pleasant conversation, loud laughter, playful insults (mostly directed at Felix and Jisung) and fried chicken.

 

 

 

  
  
  


Jisung didn't think of Lee Minho again until past midnight.

He and Felix had returned to their dorm room at around 12:15 and Felix had fallen asleep pretty much the minute his head hit the pillow. Jisung stayed up though, still worried about, newly single, Chan.

Chan and Minho had been dating for about two months and it wasn't anything too serious. Like neither had admitted to being in love with the other or anything of that caliber, but Jisung knew that Chan had had feelings for the frat boy, enough feelings to leave him heartbroken.

Lee Minho had his own reputation on campus. Your typical 'will fuck anything with legs' type if you asked Jisung. He'd never spoken to the older, he hadn't even tried to be honest - even after he and Chan started dating. But Jisung had always had a bit of a distaste for Minho. It was only worse now.

Minho was officially a fucking snake and Jisung stood by it.

It was even worse because Minho fucked with Chan. Kind, caring, sweet, brave, strong Chan. Who Jisung adored and admired and respected so, so, so much. Everybody liked Chan too, it was practically impossible not too. Pleasant facial features aside the guys was just generally (and genuinely) friendly, he was also talented and Jisung had worked out with Chan enough times to know he was buff as hell.

(By "worked out" Jisung meant 30 minutes of yoga with Felix while Chan was in a different part of the gym lifting weights. What, Jisung was small and he liked it just fine, thank you very much). 

(By "30 minutes of yoga with Felix" Jisung meant 20 minutes of actual yoga and then laughing for the remaining 10 minutes after one of the attempts The Downward Dog).

Basically Chan was buff.

Chan was in many ways an ideal boyfriend too. Loyal to a fault, generous, caring, and Jisung has already clarified that he is, in fact, buff. He had a charming smile, he was polite, he had a very comfy shoulder and he gave the best hugs (aside from Woojin, of course). Hell, if Chan didn't treat Jisung like his son, and if Jisung didn't think of Chan as an older brother, he'd be all over the older boy. Thankfully, Chan did treat Jisung like his son and Jisung did think of Chan as an older brother, so even the thought of dating Chan made him snort.

Nevertheless, Chan deserved better than a frat boy who thought only with his dick. Chan deserved someone as sweet and caring and strong as he was. If that was even possible. He definately didn't deserve someone like Lee Minho, but there was really very little Jisung could do about this situation, except be there for Chan and maybe search for someone just as perfect as Chan for the older to date.

Aside from that, maybe punch Lee Minho with Felix's help the next time he saw the frat boy.   
  
He wouldn't actually do it, but a man can dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jisung saw Minho the next day.

He hadn't meant to, he just had. It was a complete coincidence but it had worked out in Jisung's favour. 

He'd just left a lecture and he, Seungmin and Felix had agreed to hang out under the big tree on the college grounds in front of where the fraternities and soriorties were lined up. It was a really popular part of the University, always full of students on mats with books and food sprawled in front of them, the only problem was that the space was right in front of where the frat houses were lined up. Frat Houses including the building that housed the members of Alpha Phi. The building the housed Lee Minho.

Still, the three decided to go, what were the chances they'd see the guy anyway? All the had to remember to do was sit on the side of the tree that faced the soriorities, it was as easy as that. (They also had to remember to restrain Felix just in case they did actually see Minho - Jisung also had to remember to restrain himself. He may not have been as bad as the australian, but he was bad enough. Seungmin would just have to play the brain cell yet again, not like he didn't usually, anyway.)

It was a nice enough day. The sky was blue and there was a gentle breeze, as a result quite a few students had shown up. The grounds were lined with picnic mats and lounging students, already tired after a morning full of lectures and about to be even more so because an evening of assignments, internships and part time jobs awaited them. Jisung was a double major, with a minor in music production and a major in art. Seungmin was too, majoring in law and minoring in criminal psychology. Out of the five of them (Woojin, Chan, Jisung, Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin), he had it the hardest, he was also probably the smartest so it worked out.

They all constantly joked with Felix about his major being the easiest, but Jisung had spent enough sleepless nights watching Felix finsih touching up hundreds of photographs or accompanying Felix to strange locations deep into or out of Seoul just so his roommate could get "the perfect shot at the perfect time" to know that Photography was anything but an easy major.

In a way it was a lot like art, and it was another thing that had led to Felix and Jisung becoming friends as quickly as they had. 

Collectively, the five of them had very little time during the day, and tended to see each other more often after the sun had set than before. They cherished times like this, in between their hectic schedules where they could just relax and talk in peace while there was still light outside and Felix wasn't the only sun in the room. Even when things like yesterdays events were weighing down on their minds the meet up continued to be peaceful and sunny. But eventually the conversation turned to just that, and Seungmin, with a sad frown said, "I can't believe anyone would do something like that to Chan Hyung?"

He sighed, "He's basically the most sincere, kind, helpful person on campus, what could possibly have been going through this dudes head."

Felix clicked his tongue, "I swear to god, I knew he had a reputation and stuff but I didn't think anyone would even be _able_ to do something like this to _Chan Hyung_."

Jisung groaned, "Who knows what's going through his head, he probably doesnt have much of conscience. Hasn't he basically played everyone on campus?"

"Well, as long as one of us isn't next he's safe," Seungmin said with a small smirk, "if he does though, he's going to 100% face the wrath that is Kim Woojin."

Felix giggled, "I shudder at the thought."

At that exact moment, following Felix's cute little laugh, Jisung saw the one man he had been hoping not to see. He was standing in front of one of the soriorties - Alpha Xi Delta if Jisung was correct, playfully known as 'Twice' and trademarked by the giant "apricot and neon majenta" flag on it's roof - flirting incessently with one a soroirty girls Jisung knew to be Mina, an art major just like him but two years above him and porbably much much better. Minho was looming over her, arm around her shoulder and smirk lazy on his face.

He had his hair pushed under a dark red cap - in typical frat boy fashion, and he was wearing a too big bomber jacket the same deep red as his cap, black shorts that went down to his knees and a white button up shirt that hung over his short. He was wearing the same old skool vans that jisung had on his own feet, but while Jisung's were just black, his were red and white and checkered and twice as expensive.

Lee Minho.

He looked really good, Jisung wouldn't deny it, the dude almost always did. Something which undoubtedly helped him get all the girls and boys that he did. Regardless of how attractive he was, Jisung's blood still boiled as he saw Minho with his arm wrapped around Mina's shoulders still only _hours_ after breaking Chan's heart. Minho leaned down and ghosted over Mina's lips almost kissing her but pulling away before he did, then he left, sending her a wink as he walked back to his frat house nonchalantly. Jisung's eyes traled behind Minho, anger bubbling in his body, his two friends hadn't seen the older yet, which was a good thing since Felix would have bust a lung if he had seen what had just gone down.

He was close to doing so himself as he watched Minho walk back to his dorm room and fist bump two of his fellow frat boys, Jisung recognized them as Hwang Hyunjin - another campus heartthrob, but this one notorious for being exceedingly picky in his relationships, Jisung liked him better - and Seo Changbin - a fellow music prod. major who Jisung was on decent, but not quite friendly, terms with , who despite his looks and general rebelliousness had somehow ended up a frat boy, apparently because of his father's college legacy. The three laughed together and clapped Minho on the back before walking inside, cackling with laughter and hooting obnoxiously.

The fucking audacity, Jisung thought.

Seungmin's voice broke him out of his angry trance, "Yo Sung, you good dude?"  Jisung didn't respond right away, looking owlishly at the younger boy instead.

Jisung didn't know what exactly it was that his brain was urging him to do, but he knew he damn well wanted to do it, and he knew that his brain really wanted him to do it as well, and he knew it involved Lee Minho suffering. He blinked at Seungmin's words, before shaking himself a little and getting up onto his feet, an ultimatum in his mind and a slight grin on his lips. "Yup," he said, "there's just something I got to do." He grinned at Felix and Seungmin, feigning some semblance of innocence. He knew what it was that his brain wanted him to do.

"Uh, sure?" Felix said, studying his roommate with a suspicion, eyebrow raised. But Felix knew Jisung, almost better than Jisung knew himself, so he didn't stop the shorter boy. Instead he simply nodded knowingly as he watched his shorter roommate get up and march over to the Alpha Phi frat house, regardless of Seungmin's panicked warnings and "Oh my god my is he a  fucking idiot!".

Jisung felt a bit of a rush, he walked over purposefully, hands fisted in determination and eyebrows furrowing as he got closer and closer to the massive Frat House. The house's black and green flag fluttered almost playfully in the sunny breeze, making the fraternity's building look less intimidating and imposing and more like a sturdier version of a bouncy-castle, with it's white and green, poster covered, graffitied, walls. 

He sucked in a breath as he rang the doorbell, somewhere in the distance he heard Seungmin go "What the fuck are you doing, Sung?" and Felix quickly shutting him up with a yell and a "Let him do it, _let him do it!_ He grinned a little at his friends antics before once again settling into determinatuon, eyebrows furrowing and face settling into a scowl. The door didn't open for a moment and Jisung was tempted to ring again, when the door decided to whirl open and _he_ stood in the doorway.

Lee Minho looked down at him.

He looked at Jisung first with an air of surprise and then with interested eyes  as he looked Jisung up and down and settled into a smirk. Jisung knew he wasn't that bad looking, and being an art major came with having nice clothes, he particularly liked his outfit today. Seeing Minho look at him like that was oddly satisfying, in a way that made Jisung understand why Chan had been entranced by the guy. But while usually a smirk like that would made Jisung swoon and swell with pride, this one only made him angrier, his eyebrows furrowing even more and lips pursing even tighter.

"Something wrong, cutie?" Lee Minho said, smirk unwavering, "I'm sure I could help you out." Minho winked at him and Jisung was close to kicking the boy in the groin if he said anything along those lines again. Instead he forced himself to calm down and sent Minho a bright smile. He knew he had a nice one, wide and sunny, he'd been told it was his best feature and he tended to use it to his advantage, even back when he was in the system - it was probably what got him adopted time and time again despite his trouble-maker reputation. Minho's smirk widened at the grin, before it was, quite literally, slapped of his face.

Jisung raised his hand and Minho's eyes followed it curiously, then the shorter boy brought his hand down to Lee Minho's cheek, hard, a reverberating sound of what sounded almost like a loud clap silenced the nearby area. People let out gasps and chuckles, and Lee Minho stood in the doorway with his mouth hanging open and one cheek noticibly redder than the other and  eyes shocked and in pain all at once, hand fluttering to his cheek and eyes not leaving Jisung.

Jisung simply flashed another smile, this time with his teeth bared, the he turned around and left without another word.

Somewhere in the back he heard a voice softly mutter, "Holy shit," and he grinned victoriously as he returned to his friends. People gave him congratulatory hoots and fist bumps along the way, although they probably had no idea what it was exactly that they were aplauding him for. Seungmin gave him a look somewhere between horrified and amused as he sat back down on their mat, Felix grinned at him and clapped him on the back, smile so bright and contagious it made Jisung's smile impossibly bigger. "Good fucking job, Sung," Felix laughed, eyes crinkling and laughing even harder as he saw Seungmins expression. 

"You've got a death wish, Sungie," Seungmin groaned, face settling into twised smile which made it obvious that he was struggling to hold in his laughter, "a goddamn fucking death wish."

"Language," Jisung said, cheekily as he leaned onto Seungmin with a grin.

"Korean," Felix, in true Felix fashion, said. 


	2. grasp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho blinked. "What just happened?"
> 
> Changbin let out a snort.
> 
> Minho blinked again. "Who was that?"
> 
> Changbin raised an eyebrow, "You don't know? I thought he was one of those people you made a move on and then didn't call back."
> 
> Minho blinked again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that the update took so long, but i take really long to write my chapters!!!! sorry!!!!

Minho could not believe what had just happened.

He'd been minding his own business back in the Alpha Phi frat house. Hyunjin was obnoxiously singing along to whatever got7 song was playing through his headphones and Changbin was throwing him dirty looks for it. He'd just won a bet against Momo to see who could kiss Mina from the Alpha Xi Delta Soriority, which entailed that he would be winning 20 bucks, so all in all life was pretty good, even when the doorbell rang.

He'd opened it to see a boy. A really cute boy.

Like full cheeks, big eyes, fluffy brown hair, cute.

After giving him a not-so-subtle look over Minho found that the boy was shorter than he was, but he had long limbs. He was dressed simply, albeit attractively although that may have just been his effect on the clothes, in dark skinny jeans held up by a black belt, a too big white t-shirt that he'd tucked in and a black denim jacket with the sleeves folded up to a couple inches above his wrists. A black beanie sat on his head and there were armbands on his arms, Minho noticed a green one that said 'Zico' (so the boy obviously had taste) and one with something scribbled in english but with a symbol that Minho remembered to be one of the album covers for the band Pink Floyd. Minho liked the vibe the guy gave off, and he expressed this with a smirk on his face and his eyes glued on the shorter.

The boy had his eyebrows knotted and his lips were in a slight frown. Minho kept his eyes glued on the boy, "Something wrong, cutie?" He said, smirk unwavering, "I'm sure I could help you out." Minho sent the shorter boy a wink. The boy blinked up at him for a second before bursting into a blinding grin. An adorably blinding grin. So adorable in fact that Minho felt his heart beat a little faster and that didn't happen all that open.

And then it happened.

And apparently "Holy shit" was all he could say.

Because one second the boy was smiling like the sun, and the next his arm was raised, and the next Minho felt a sharp sting on his face, and the next the boy flashed Minho yet another sunny smile, and the next the boy turned around and walked away. Minho was, through the whole thing, standing there like an idiot with his mouth open wide and a sharp pain on his cheek. He was frozen, he barely registered the hollers and claps that followed the ordeal, at least not until Hyunjin slapped him on his back, laughing like a maniac, and said, "Holy shit, dude, that was fucking insane!"

Minho turned around slowly, facing his two friends. Changbin stood slack jawed, but thoroughly amused, as if he couldn't decide wether he wanted to gasp or laugh. Hyunjin was practically rolling on the floor by now, crumbling in laughter. Minho was still frozen. Changbin put a hand over his mouth, as if to prevent himself from laughing, and quietly pushed the door behind Minho shut, the older boy still making no movement.

Minho blinked. "What just happened?"

Changbin let out a snort.

Minho blinked again. "Who was that?"

Changbin raised an eyebrow, "You don't know? I thought he was one of those people you made a move on and then didn't call back." Minho shook his head wildly. Hyunjin, who seamed to have finally recovered from his laughing fit, spoke up, "Oh I know who that was, and I'm pretty sure Minho hasn't made a move on him, yet at least." Minho chose to ignore the younger's words, instead he asked, "Who was that?"

Hyunjin chuckled, "That's Han Jisung, he's in my year. Actually, he's a music prod. major, just like you Hyung," he said, turning to Changbin. "Huh," Changbin said, "That's interesting." Minho was still in a trance but slowly registering what had just happened.

He had just been slapped.

By who knows who.

(Well, Hyunjin knows who, but that wasn't the point.)

He should've been mad, in other situation he knew he would've. Or felt insulted at the very least. But he didn't feel either of those emotions, or anything negative at all for that matter. All he knew was that despite the fact that this "Han Jisung" kid had slapped him, he also smiled brighter than the sun, and was very cute, and pretty much exactly Minho's type as far as looks went at least. But Han Jisung had slapped him. Hard. And he didn't quite know how he felt about that just yet.

He took a deep breath, "I'm going to go take a nap."

Changbin and Hyunjin nodded and Minho started for the staircase. As he was going up he heard Hyunjin softly muttering. "That was odd wasn't it," he said softly.

"It sure was," Minho heard Changbin reply.

"Maybe he has a concussion, Hyung, do you think he has a concussion,?"

"I highly doubt that this Jisung kid hit him  _that_  hard, Jinnie."

"You never know, Binnie Hyung, you never know."

Hmm. Maybe that's what it was. Maybe that's why Minho wasn't mad at this kid. Maybe that's why he couldn't get that grin out of his head. Maybe that's why he didn't feel like at least slapping the boy back. Maybe that's why he had the urge to get to know the kid better. Maybe, just maybe, he had a concussion.

(He didn't - but that really isn't the point.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't the concussion.

It wasn't the concussion because Minho thought about Han Jisung again that night, after he got as drunk as he possibly could at a Kappa Delta Tau party that he'd attended with thousands of people and even more red plastic cups full of beer. He thought about Han Jisung as he took his 12th shot. He thought about Han Jisung while he sloppily made out with a Kappa Delta Tau Boy with hair that was coloured too much like a green highlighter and sounds that were too loud for a crowded party in a fairly cramped house.

He thought about Han Jisung when he broke away from said bright haired boy and saw his ex, because halfway through making out with the boy - Minho couldn't quite recall his name and the boy seamed a little too drunk to care - Minho saw Chan. 

Minho didn't want to see Chan.

Chan had been Minho most recent relationship, and the dude was great. He was attractive, sweet, funny, but he'd never been Minho's type. So, within less than a month of dating, Minho locked lips with a girl in his bio class. And he did it again with some dude on the school's swimming team. And again, and again, and again; and he never told Chan. He tried to, he really did, but one look at Chan, who was nice and oh so perfect in his mannerisms, made Minho seal his mouth and just try and give the boy a good time, which he did diligently.

Until literally a day ago when Chan texted him that it was over and said nothing else.

Chan looked good today, he looked tired and his face was duller than Minho was used to it being (he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about that), but he was still smiling, eyes crinkling at the sides. He was dressed nicely, in snug black trouser and a black shirt that was buttoned low on his chest. His hair was the same, a pale blonde getting paler and paler by the day. He looked good but regret washed over Minho when he saw the boy. He didn't miss Chan exactly, but he did feel bad about what he'd done. He was this close to walking up to the boy, laughing with his friends about something or the other, when he saw someone else that had been occupying his mind.

Han Jisung looked very different than he had in the morning, this time in leather trouser that sat high on his waste and a black turtleneck, the outfit was finished with chains around his neck and one of those black holographic jackets. He looked good, really really good, and Minho still couldn't really figure out how this, kid who's first interaction with Minho had been slapping him, could make his heart seam to beat a little faster. He was smiling that same smile as before but aimed at Chan this time around. The smile was different this time though, broader and more genuine, more real, and Minho felt conflicted.

"Hey," highlighter hair said, "Why'd you stop?"

"Um," Minho stuttered, "Sorry man i gotta go, my friends calling me over."

"Wha-"

Minho left before he could say another word. He tried seeking Changbin or Hyunjin, preferably Changbin since Hyunjin was probably drunk off his ass already and dancing wildly on the dance floor. Luckily, he managed to find Changbin, he was playing beer pong with a couple of Alpha Phi members and apparently doing very well, which he exclaimed very loudly and Minho grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the table. 

"What?" Changbin said irritably, "I was winning, too."

Minho sighed, "Uh, Chan's here."

"Oh... Shit."

Changbin didn't really approve of Minho's "lifestyle". The whole sleep-with-whoever-you-want-whenever-you-want wasn't really for him. In fact, the whole frat boy thing wasn't really for him either. Most boys killed to join Alpha Tau, it was after all the campus's biggest most prestigious fraternity, known for having an endless amount of beer and frat parties. Boys from all streams and curriculums jumped to join Alpha Tau. Changbin was different. He was a legacy for starters, for more than one generation actually. His great uncle had started Alpha Tau in his college days, adapting american culture he saw in hollywood movies into his own college, as a result Changbin's father had joined Alpha Tau, and later along the line forced Changbin to do so as well. 

"So, what are you going to do?" Changbin asked, an eyebrow raised and arms crossed over his chest, one hand clutching onto a plastic cup full of beer. "Well, I was going to walk over and apologize," Minho started, "But, well, uh, guess who else was there."

Changbin stared at him, eyebrow rising exponentially higher, "Uh... I don't know?"

"Just guess."

"Um... his roommate! Woojin... I think?"

"Uh, no."

"Um, Oh! Bambam!"

"Nope."

"Yugyeom?"

"No."

"Uhhhh... Hyunjin?"

"You're not even trying now."

Changbin let out an exasperated sigh, "I don't exactly know Chan that well, Minho." He said cocking his head and taking a long sip of his beer, sighing as the liquid hit his tongue, "Just tell me who it was." Minho groaned, "thekidwhoslappedme," he said, speaking so fast it was incomprehensible. Changbin scrunched his eyebrows together for a second, trying to figure out what it is exactly that Minho was saying, "You're going to have to talk a little bit slower, bud."

Minho sighed, "It was the kid who slapped me," he said, "you know, this morning, you must remember."

"Oh, I remember," Changbin confirmed, now nodding and sporting a delightfully evil grin, "Well, the slap makes sense now."

Minho stared at Changbin expectantly, but the shorter boy did not speak further, taking thoughtful sips from his red plastic cup instead. "Well," Minho said, voice distinctly impatient,  "Tell me why he did it?" Changbin frowned at him, "Who did what?" he asked, mischief hidden behind a mask of faked confusion. Minho growled, "Why the Han Jisung kid slapped me, dickwad!" Changbin hummed, "I can't believe you remember his name, "You don't even remember the names of people you sleep with."

"Do you want to get punched?"

"Not particularly, no."

Minho groaned loudly, harshly snatching Changbins beer from his hand and downing the liquid until there was nothing left which elicited a "hey!" from Changbin. "Can you _please_ just tell me about how him being friends with Chan explains the slap?" Changbin chuckled, "You're really stupid, you know that?" Minho let out his loudest groan yet and banged his head on the wall lightly, "I've been told- now please just tell!" He whined.

"Well," Changbin said, "Just think about it okay, Jisung and Chan are friends, right?" Minho rolled his eyes, "Noted." he said, annoyance vivid in his voice. "Well," Changbin sighed, "You, uh, cheated on Chan," he continued, carefully. Minho nodded slowly, guilt filling up his gut, "Yeah," he whispered, "Y-yeah, I did." He hated that his words came out alongside a stutter but he looked at Changbin for answers persistently, dense as ever.

Changbin let out another sigh, his deepest one yet, "So," he said, "Since Chan and Jisung are friends, Chan - I'm assuming - must have told him everything about-," he gesture wildly at Minho, swirling and moving his arms and hands in strange shapes and squiggles for about twenty second, "you know, everything."

Minho blinked. Once. Twice. Three times, before finally picking up on what Changbin was saying.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Changbin was talking to Minho as if he was a child and Minho didn't know how he felt about it. Changbin usually wasn't this careful with his words but he was talking to Minho like the older was going to burst into tears at any given moment. Minho didn't know wether it was because of the alcohol or the situation, but Changbin wasn't entirely wrong in assuming Minho was about to cry. He held back though, pouting his lips instead.

"Makes sense... i guess," he said, eyebrows knotted in exasperation. 

"It does," Changbin nodded, still careful, "So, you get it now? I mean I may be wrong, but this is what's most likely now that we know about Chan and Jisung's relationship, right?" Minho sighed under his breath, for some reason the words 'Chan and Jisung's relationship' and the implications of those words, well, bothered him.

There was silence for a while and then Minho broke it. "You know, I haven't ever left a party early," he said. Changbin raised an eyebrow at him, slightly amused, slightly worried. "Well, it's never too late to try something for the first time, Minho," he said with a shrug and a smile, "Now, if you don't mind, can I please get back to beating the crap out of everyone else at beer pong?" Minho let out a chuckle, slapping Changbin on the back perhaps a little harder than he meant to, "Give em hell, little dude."

Changbin frowned, "You're not that tall, you know?" he said, lips in an angry pout and eyebrows pursed together.

"Well yeah," Minho said, breaking into a large grin, "but I'm not quite this short either," he said, petting Changbin's head as the younger scowled and swatted at him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minho hadn't been lying when he told Changbin he'd never left a party early.

So the empty front lawn of the Kappa Delta Tau House, where there was only a boy smoking a cigarette and the muffled sounds of party music in the background, was an entirely new sight to Minho. He could only see the boys back, but he could make out a startlingly familiar body shape, and a strangely endearing head of hair shrouded in nothing but moonlight and the glare from a street light opposite the house. But despite how familiar the figure looked,through his semi drunken state Minho was in no position to join the dots and figure out who this guy was.

Still, the dude had cigarettes. Obviously, considering the wafts of smoke that surrounded him, thick and shrouded in the unmistakable and still strangely nostalgic smell of cheap tobacco. Minho could really use a cigarette right now, cheap tobacco or other wise, so he softly padded over to the shorter boy and tapped his shoulder. The boy, tensed all of a sudden and pulled earphones that Minho hadn't noticed before out of his ears. He spun around, and then stopped, and then stared-

And Minho did the same thing because, considering who the boy was, Minho had proved he was unable of doing anything else.

"Oh, it's you," Minho said, intelligently, eyes glued on the shorter boy and his too-wide, too-brown, eyes.

"Wh-What do you want?" Han Jisung said with a slight stutter and scowling lips and knotted eyebrows.

Minho couldn't speak for a second, because somehow Jisung looked just as pretty now as he had while he was smiling under the afternoon sun, although in a completely different way. His eyes were more tired now and seamed darker and more intense than they had in the morning. His hair a lot more messy, some of the studs on his ears were misaligned and his turtleneck was slightly crushed. Ash littered his jeans and jacket, but the moonlight surrounded him like a halo, bathing him in all the colours between pure white and midnight blue.

"I, um," Minho stuttered, his tongue suddenly too thick in his mouth, "I was just going to ask if, uh... um, If I could have a cigarette?"

Jisung narrowed his eyes, and Minho was almost sure that he was going to be slapped again. Nothing happened for a moment, but then Han Jisung reached into his pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes and a white lighter. "Fine," he muttered under his breath before letting out a lengthy, long suffering, sigh.

"Take one- but I'm only doing this because Chan told me to apologise to you and I'm not about to do that."

"Um, thanks."

They stood there in silence for a while, Jisung once again turned his back to Minho and continued taking in puffs from his cigarette while Minho lit one of his own. Minho stared at the younger from his the corner of his eye, watching as the shorter boy held his cigarettes between his index and middle finger and brought it gingerly towards plump lips and tired eyes, like a french girl in all those indie movies Minho pretended he liked. He may not have liked watching the action in the movies, but for whatever reason, he didn't mind it half as much when Han Jisung did it.

Minho almost forgot his own cigarette watching the boy, he remembered in an instant, immediately stuffing the cigarette into his mouth unceremoniously and lighting the other side, taking in a sigh of relief as a familiar choking warmth entered his chest. Minho then handed Jisung the lighter and cigarette box with a small whisper of, "Thank you". Jisung took them back without a word, shoving them into his pockets.

Minho had never been much of a smoker, his parents both did so heavily and perhaps that was why Minho tried to do it as little as possible - being addicted to tobacco just seamed to run in Minho's family, from both sides. But there was familiarity in the choking sensation that came with inhaling a puff of smoke, and as bad as it was for Minho's body, and as much as MInho knew about how bad it was for Minho's body, he still did it sometimes, when he actually missed home. He didn't miss home often, though, so he still coughed a little when he took in Jisung's cigarettes, Jisung giggled a little from the side, Minho thought he didn't mind coughing more if Jisung giggled again.

"Tell him that I'm sorry," Minho said quietly before he could stop himself. He regretted the words almost as soon as they left his mouth.

Jisung visibly stiffened. "You should tell him yourself," he said under his breath, "he deserves that much."

Jisung was  right, Minho knew he was right.

So, Minho said "You're right," andd elicited a scoff from the younger, "I'm guessing that's why you slapped me?" Minho continued. Jisung didn't say or do anything for a minute, casually continuing to breathe in his cigarette instead, before nodding slowly, "You could say that, it was definitely something along those lines, at the very least." Silence once again overtook the pair, but it was strangely comfortable, considering Minho had only known the guy for a few hours (and gotten slapped somewhere during the earlier ones).

"I really am sorry."

"I'm not the one who needs to here that."

Minho sighed, soft and audibly weighed down with guilt, "You're right, I guess," Jisung scoffed again. Silence once again surrounded them, mixing with the faint thumping from somewhere inside the frat house and the heavy, musky smell of cigarette smoke. Then the silence was broken, only Jisung was the one to break it this time,

"Can I ask why you did it?" He said, voice soft but with an audible bite behind his words.

"I, um," Minho stuttered, "It's not a very interesting story, I guess, but it's, um, quite long."

"Well, I don't know about you but It's only just about 1:30 and I may have assignments but I also have all night to waste."

"It's not a very, um, uh, the story just doesn't make a lot of sense."

"I don't really care, Lee Minho."

Something about the way Han Jisung said his name, even under layers of malice and betrayal and revenge mongering and anger, made his heart beat just a little faster than Minho was used to it beating. Because Minho's heart did not beat faster, Minho made other peoples hearts beat faster, and yet here he was, smoking cigarettes with a boy he first heard of less than 24 hours ago, a boy who also slapped Minho across the face, and a boy who also made Minho want grab him and kiss him till there was no malice and anger left in Jisung's voice and and he could only call Minho's name in happiness, friendliness, maybe more.

"It really isn't a very comprehensive story," Minho said, staring pointedly away from Han Jisung's face.

"I think I'm smart enough to get it, Lee," Han Jisung said, "just get on with it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> smoking kills. sorry. they're in college they don't care. sorry. but like don't smoke kids.


	3. hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a lot more to this boy, and Minho was only beginning to scratch at the mystery that was Han Jisung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long but I hope you guys enjoy it!!!!!

Minho had a kid cousin name Jeongin.

He about three years younger than Minho, chatty for the most part, but hidden under the facade of stoic poshness that only kids who grew up in families like Minho's had. He was now in college, but only in his first year and he was in a different campus. They'd grown up in different cities, but they'd been fairly close, he was definitely Minho's cousin. He used to talk a lot when they were younger, so did Minho, but they both grew quieter as they grew up, albeit in different ways. Jeongin grew shy as the years progressed, teenage awkwardness taking it's toll. Minho never quite had that phase, he went straight from bubbly and childish to cocky and flirtatious. Still, Minho's mom always said they were alike. Minho got it to a certain degree, they both had an air of stress and dignity surrounding them, and apparently Jeongin had grown to be quite a smooth talker while Minho was in college.

Minho hoped and prayed Jeongin didn't end up like him.

Still, Minho wasn't necessarily the chatty type, and he didn't really think he was like Jeongin all that much. Jeongin, however, still retained that brigthness and for the most part his sunny extroverted nature. Minho wasn't quite like that, he wasn't quiet either, he just wasn't as loud and out there the way Jeongin was, or like Hyunjin, or that Felix kid from his dance class who was friends with everyone Minho could name.

Jisung was a differnt case altogether. According to Hyunjin, the guy was just as bright and social as Felix was, and Minho would have believed that purely based off the kids smile. Now, however, seeing Jisung with a cigarette between his pouty lips and a tired look in his eye, it was hard for Minho to imagine Jisung as purely bright smiles and sunny laughter, he had both of those of course, but there was a lot more to Jisung, Minho was sure of it. The two of them were sitting underneath the big tree that faced the Fraternity street, leaning against the bark, and under the bright streetlights Han Jisung seamed both too beautiful and too complex for Minho to quite wrap his mind around. 

"Go on then," Jisung said, a puff of smoke came out alongside his words.

"Huh?" Minho said, intelligently, too caught up in the boy next to him to remember why they were here in the first place.

Jisung let out a chuckle, albeit a dry humourless one, "Why'd you cheat on Chan, Minho?"

There was something admonishing in his voice, as if Minho was a middle schooler who just got sent to the principals office and Jisung was the receptionist asking why he was here while not being very keen to really know the answer. He stared at Minho then, with those wide eyes that made Minho want to drop everything and just look at them for hours (even when they were somewhere between tired and angry - as they were now). It was obvious that Jisung wanted to say more, probably edge on Minho into telling him, but he didn't, and Minho was almost thankful for that. "I don't really know how to start, kid," Minho said, trying to make it sound as flippant as possible, but the quiver in his voice must have given him away.

Still, Jisung scoffed, so maybe some of the flippancy Minho was aiming for got through regardless of his - well, he wasn't sure what to call this feeling. He wasn't nervous or anxious, and he wasn't just flat out scared or anything like that. All Minho knew was that he was feeling something, and he didn't know what it was, and he decidedly did not like it.

"God, if I'm waiting all this while just to hear some sob story about you're parents I'm going to kill you."

Minho blanked and warily raised an eyebrow, "huh?"

"What I'm saying is that if I get some sob story about how you're parents were never happy with just each other so you try to fill you're void with as many people as you can and you're never satisfied when you're just with one person then I call bullshit because I know that that's what it is, and you know that that's what it is, and I've met too many people who do the same thing to believe that that's the only reason you cheat."

Minho was frozen.

Partly because he hadn't expected an outburst that was delivered so calmly, but more importantly because Jisung had managed to nail his explanation on the head. He was silent, and clearly for a tad too long, because Jisung let out a sigh and said, "I was right, wasn't I?" Minho took in a deep breath, "Yeah," he mumbled out. Jisung let out a sigh, and Minho could tell there was a hint of disappointment in there as if he'd been expecting more. "Huh," he said finally, then, after noticing his cigarette had gone out, he reached into the box and pulled out another, snubbing the old one on the ground. "But there is more, isn't there?" He continued. Minho chuckled dryly.

"Yeah, yeah there is."

"Well, go on then."

Minho sucked in his breath. He'd never really said what he was about to say before, and it was either the alcohol from before or something about Han Jisung, but Minho felt completely at peace, even while thinking about the demons he was about to let out. He closed his eyes, leaning into the tree bark, and said, "It's like once I started I just couldn't stop? Cheating, you know. Like there's a thrill to it and god knows I don't have anything else to do, it's not like I have hobbies." He sighed, pausing for a second, Jisung's eyes seamed trained on him, although his eyes were significantly less hostile than before, "It's not like I'm doing it on purpose - I mean I am! Obviously, but it's not like I want to! It just kinda, happens, and It's never stopped on it's own so now I just don't try to stop it."

"It sounds more like you're giving into it."

"I guess you could call it that."

Silence settles, and despite the previous topic of discussion, the atmosphere is almost calm, punctuated only by Jisung's inhales as he breathes in another cigarette. "How long have you been doing it?" Jisung asks, "Cheating, that is." Minho, slightly taken aback but the sudden interruption of silence, answers, "Ever since I had my third girlfriend, so... maybe tenth grade?" If he was honest, he didn't really know. He couldn't remember a time where he hadn't done it. Jisung from chuckled from next to him and a waft of smoke floated through the air. So, Minho decided that maybe it was time he should ask Jisung some questions of his own, just because he was curious, really.

"How long have you been smoking?"

There's silence for a second and then Jisung lets out a tired sigh.

"Since I was twelve."

Minho let out a surprised little sound, because holy shit that was unexpected. Twelve was far too young, even by Minho's standard who was getting wasted pretty much every night by the time he was sixteen. Minho wanted to ask more, but he didn't really want to push, he had been slapped by the guy. Nevertheless, Jisung, having sensed that Minho was dying to ask more, sighed and said, "I was in the foster system growing up, so accessing the stuff wasn't too hard no matter where I went or which new family I was assigned to. So, they kind of became a constant, regardless of what house I was moved into or which orphanage I was returned to, clinging onto cigarettes is easier than clinging onto other material, or non-material, things," Jisung answered.

Minho felt like he had just been hit by a truck.

There was so much in that little speech that Minho wanted to address, wanted to ask about, wanted to question - _Han Jisung was an orphan? What happened to his parents? What did he mean by "New Family? How many times had he been moved around exactly?_   Jisung seemed to sense that Minho wanted to ask, so he took a deep and said, "Please don't ask anymore questions." His voice wavered in a way in hadn't throughout Jisung and Minho's conversation and in a way that made Minho's heart clench. But he adhered to Jisung's request - because how could he ever deny this boy? With smoke flowing out of his heart shaped lips and blue hair the colour of the night sky, with eyes sparkling under unnatural lighting and delicate fingers as he drew the cigarette from his lips, everything about the boy was ethereal, and yet so, so haunting.

And now Minho knew that his childhood and background were similarly so.

There was a lot more to this boy, and Minho was only beginning to scratch at the mystery that was Han Jisung.

"You know you can go see a therapist, someone to help with the addiction y'know?" Minho asked, his voice careful.

Jisung sighed, "I know - and you should too."

Minho quirked an eyebrow, "huh?" Jisung scoffed, although there was definitely a sense of (maybe) sympathy in there, "About the sex, the cheating. You should tell someone about it, work you're way through it with a professional and not some kid who slapped you just this morning" There was a glint in Jisung's eye, maybe a hint of a smile and MInho felt his heart constrict, but then Jisung's face settled back into a frown. "You'll fuck up you're life this way, Minho Hyung, you'll lose people before you even have them."

Minho wanted to focus on his words, but his heart was still racing because Jisung had called him 'Minho _Hyung_ '.

And that really shouldn't have done to his heart what it  did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Felix crashes into their dorm at around 3 a.m.

Jisung's been back for a while, after his little conversation with Minho he'd returned to his dorm with the cigarettes out and a sense of fulfilment. He could sympathise with the older boy, not agree, by sympathise, maybe. He'd met enough people like him - the foster system left you with practically nothing, so you turned to whatever you could for comfort, many people looked to sex, or drugs, or alcohol. Or smoking, like Jisung had. He remembered the first time he'd done it, with an older boy in the orphanage who'd basically taken Jisung under his wing name Kang Younghyun. They looked alike, people almost thought they may have been family, but those kinds of theories were rampant in the foster system, and almost always untrue. 

"Where'd you go, Sungie," Felix whined when he stepped into the room, "I missed you!" Jisung broke into a grin, "I thought you were a little busy wooing Changbin Hyung." Felix looked confused and he stared at Jisung with confused eyes, "Who?"

"The guy you were flirting with at the bar, Felix."

"Oh, him?" Felix seamed to still be processing the words, then he shook himself and exclaimed, "I would never! He's one of the Alpha Phi boys- after what Minho did to Chan, I could never!" Jisung shrugged, "Speaking of Alpha Phi boys," he said, "I was with Minho." Felix looked at him with wide eyes, "Woah," he said, before sitting on Jisung's bed and scooting close to the smaller boy, "Was it about the slap? Oh my god did he hit you? I swear to god if he hit you he's dead-"

Jisung chuckled, and pet the younger boy on the head quieting him down. "Relax Lix, we were just talking," he said, Felix continued to stare at him, eyes getting more intrigued by the second, "I asked him why he cheated on Chan." Felix whispered another, "Oh," he paused, "What did he say?" Jisung drew in a breath, tired but serene, "It was you're typical unhappy parents story," Jisung said and he heard Felix let out a little scoff.

"But," Jisung sighed,"I think he may be like, addicted."

"To sex?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Huh," Felix said, "I mean obviously I still don't condone it, not at all, but I guess that makes it more acceptable," he scrunched up his nose, "Kinda." Jisung giggled half-heartedly, "I'm sure when he finds someone he really loves he'll stop." Felix sighed and looked at his friend with meaningful eyes, "you say that like you quit smoking the moment you found a better outlet, Sung." His voice was soft and well-meaning, they'd had this conversation before, Felix had always been incredibly supportive. Jisung leaned against the slightly taller boy, nestling his head into Felix's shoulder, "I guess you're right."

"I mean you don't smoke half as much as you used to," Felix's arms tightened around Jisung, "and I'm so, so, proud of you, Sung."

Jisung smiled softly, "I couldn't have done it without you."

Felix chuckled, "I know."

And Jisung had meant it, every word. Before Felix, Jisung smoked maybe 3 packs a day and then some, cigarettes were pretty much ingrained in his daily routine and he thought very little of it at the time. But then Felix had waltz into his life, with all his healthy eating habits (save for maybe sometimes going a little overboard on the liquor), and pounced on Jisung about his smoking habits. Although he was serious, he'd always been impossibly nice about it, Jisung would never have been able to do the same if they're positions had been switched, it was just one of the reasons why Felix was such an important figure in Jisung's life. He'd brought in friends and laughs and exotic new shows and foods and music completely foreign to Jisung.

And Jisung knew, deep in his heart, that more than anything else he _needed_ Lee Felix. 

And that begged the question; maybe Lee Minho needed a Felix as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few days later, on a weekend, Jeongin burst into Seungmin's apartment and screamed, "holy shit, Lee Minho is Minho Hyung!"

Jisung stirred from Seungmin's couch, the four of them - namely Jisung, Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin (Woojin and Chan were both too swamped with their final years of college) - had wanted to get together, something they hadn't done in a whilem and agreed to meet at Seungmin's place. Mostly because it was the biggest, but also because Seungmin was the only one who didn't live in a dorm or with a roommate. The law major had agreed after some persuading, albeit grudgingly, and he only gave in when Jisung, Felix and Jeongin all simultaneously pulled out their pouts and puppy dog eyes.

Speaking of the youngest, Jeongin was usually late, he was so this time as well but no one really blamed him - his campus was a little further away from Jisung, Felix and Seungmin’s so really how could they - besides, the youngest was too cute to be mad at. Nevertheless, usually when he met them he would open with a 'hi' or a 'hey' and he was in a good mood a 'what's up guys i missed you al so much', but he definitely did _not_  open with an unexplained and deeply problematic line about one of their best friends' exes. 

"Morning, Jeongin," Felix grinned, chipper as always and unfazed by Jeongin's words, "what's going on."

He received a glare in response. "What's going on," Jeongin hissed, slamming Seungmin's door behind him in a way that made Seungmin shoot the younger a glare, "Is that Chan Hyung dated and was cheated on by Lee Minho." Seungmin looked at him, is expression a mix of aggravation and confusion, "Okay..." he said voice trailing off. Jeongin groaned, slipping into the sofa next to where Felix was sitting, "Remember when I told you three that I had a cousin who went to the same college as you guys? And remember when I told you his name was Minho? Are things starting to make sense now?"

Felix blinked. And then Jisung blinked. And then Seungmin burst into realisation.

"You're cousin Minho is Lee Minho?" He yelled, voice an octave higher by the end of the sentence than it was at it's start.

Jisung broke out of his shock second. "What! I though you meant Song Minho, the senior?" He exclaimed, almost falling off the couch in the process. 

Felix reacted last, still safely on the sofa unlike his roomate, eyes wide and confused, mouth quirked to one side in a confused, lopsided, frown.

"Huh," he said finally, then he turned to Jeongin with curious eyes, "does Chan Hyung know?"

The youngest sighed, burying his face in his arms, "No, no he doesn't. Unless he figured it out before I did but that isn't likely considering I only got to know this morning - I had no idea Chan Hyung's Minho's last name was you guys, I though it was some other Minho!" Jisung looked over at the boy curiously, although with his face buried in has hands all you could really see of Jeongin was his startling, dark red hair. "Calm down Innie, you're alright." Jisung consoled, "but how did you get to know anyway? Minho, isn't an uncommon name, there like three in our college?" The three of them looked at the youngest expectantly as Jeongin removed his hands from his face and looked up at the three older boys. "Well," he said, "before coming I was supposed to meet up with him, he lived nearby and we hadn't met in ages so I called him up and he told me to meet at him at some coffee shop called the Dream Bean-"

"Quality coffee," Jisung offered, he then raised his arms in surrender after Jeongin and Seungmin threw him sharp glares.

" _As I was saying_ ," Jeongin said, eyeing Jisung pointedly, "We met up and we got to talking about life and all that stuff. I asked him if he had a girlfriend or a boyfriend or something, and he got a little on edge. I pushed a little - because you've always gotta push with Minho Hyung - and then he just poured out all his personal frustrations and told me about how he can't stop cheating and how he wants to stop but can't end it - it was honestly just a whole clusterfuck of sentences I only half understood, but by the end of it it was pretty obvious that my cousin Minho, was also chan's cheating ex-boyfriend Minho."

He took in a deep breath and groaned. "I have never been so conflicted about something," Jeonging paused, looking thoughtful, "or felt so conflicted about feeling conflicted." Felix snorted, “It’s okay Innie, we’ve half forgiven Minho.” Seungmin’s eyebrows raised to the top of his face, “We have?” He questioned, looking suspicious. Felix gave him a disarming grin and a nod in response. “I had a little chat with him,” Jisung added, “During that Alpha Nu party we went for?” Seungmin nodded with a shrug and Jeongin looked strangely thoughtful all of a sudden. He prodded his chin with his fingers and suddenly turned straight to Jisung.

“Wait,” he muttered, “you were the cute guy who councilled him at the frat party?” 

The sentence was said softly, and mostly to himself, but all three older boys heard him clearly.

“Excuse me, what!” Felix said, looking somewhere between shocked, confused and amused. 

Seungmin’s eyebrows had gone back to the top of his forehead and this time so had Jisung’s. 

“Um, Jeongin,” Seungmin said, “Care to explain?” Jeongin pursed his lips and continued to stare at Jisung. Jisung stared right back. "Okay this is eating me up inside," Felix announced, "Jeongin: spill." The youngest burst out of his stupor, "Basically," he said, he sounded reluctant but also decisive, as if he didn't want to say it but he knew he should, "he said basically ever since he started sleeping around his first instinct when he meets someone attractive is to try and sleep with them, but there's this guy, and yes he did make a move on him first time Minho Hyung saw him, but then this guy had like a heart-to-heart with him during some party and yes, he's still crazy attracted to the dude, but he doesn't want to sleep with him anymore - I mean, like he _does,_ but it's not _all_ he wants with this guy. And if this guy is Jisung Hyung..."

Jeongin paused and went back to looking Jisung straight in the eye, "we may have a problem here."

There was silence for a moment, the four boys exchanging worried glances and frowns. Finally, Felix spoke up.

"See if this was a movie I would tell you to give Minho a taste of his medicine, do to him what he did to Chan," Felix said, and then rushed to speak again when he saw his friends horrified faces, "But, that's a dick move and I would never tell you to do that, jeez guys have some faith." He paused and then turned to Jisung solely, "But still, considering his past with Channie Hyung, and how much he liked Minho, we've got to manage this very, very, carefully." There was silence again, and then Jeongin spoke up. "I mean, maybe it's not Jisung Hyung? Like Minho Hyung's in a fraternity, he goes to tonnes of party's. So is it completely impossible that there wasn't another guy who had like a heart to hear with Minho Hyung?"

Jisung, Felix and Seungmin shot each other doubtful glances. "It's possible," Seungmin said, "but, it isn't likely." Silence fell again, stuffy and full of worry, unlike the usual mood when the four of them were hanging out. And then Felix broke the silence again, this time looking purposeful. 

"I know what we have to do," He said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ik this chapter was a little lackluster but you know plot purposes™️
> 
> Also I know this chapter took an unfairly long time but I was working on my minsung Spider-Man au which I worked super hard on and it would mean the world to me if you checked it out :)))
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/19068928


	4. tight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, and it's a little shorter than the rest of the chapters but from now on I'm going to try and keep the chapters at this length so i can get them to you guys faster : ) i hope you guys don't mind too much and enjoy this chapter 
> 
> \+ A woochan snippet because i'm a little heartbroken but it's all good cos as long as my boy is happy and cool with his decision then so am i

Here’s the thing about addiction: you never see it coming.

Take smoking for example, old school, but relevant nevertheless.  


The first time you do it you end up in a coughing fit and you don’t enjoy it half as much as you thought you would when you first held the cigarette in your fingers. But, despite the coughing, some strange primal part of you enjoys it, the whole rebellious nature of it, the thrill. So, you decide you want to smoke without the burning sensation in your lungs that follows, and as a result you start practicing. 

Three days in a row you smoke a single cigarette and by day three you’re at minimal coughing. Then, when day four rolls around, you say to yourself, “well, what’s a second smoke?”  Then two turns to three, and three to four, and then months down the line you find yourself smoking five packs a day. 

What’s ironic is that this is what you’ve been training for. 

You don’t cough anymore when you draw a cigarette from your lips, you don’t even flinch and your breath doesn’t stutter.  Smoking is just another constant in you’re life now, the breathing in and out of nicotine and carbon monoxide is just as quintessential as the breathing in and out of good old oxygen- 

And then the reality of “fuck, I can’t stop” hits you and you realise that you are tragically, fully, terribly, wholly, unfortunately, and terrifyingly: addicted.

Minho’s journey of cheating, you must realize, is very much the same.

The first time he had sex was with his girlfriend in the tenth grade, they were fifteen, it was a mess. But, it satisfied some primal need in Minho, something he had no outlet for in his regular, stuffy, high class lifestyle. So, after his first break up he did it again, and again, and again. And by the third time, going by the third girls moans and pleas, he got quite good at it, and as he got better he started to enjoy it, thrive off of it, in fact.

By the time college rolled around Minho had experimented with girls, boys, both, neither, kinks, fetishes, toys, devices, and even more. It was something new and different in his otherwise static, uptight, micromanaged, life, and it became a new kind of constant.

(If your wondering, his first girlfriend later came out as asexual.)

(Minho is decidedly not so. He just needed some practice, that's all.)

But now something had changed, because post his discussion with Han Jisung under the big tree in Fraternity Lane, Minho realised that all of a sudden, he didn't want to have a sex anymore. Not like permanently, he still wanted to have sex, obviously, but that constant urge to take out his energy by fucking into some stranger was practically gone, or at the very least subdued. He did still have sex though, more for boredom than anything else, he just couldn't think of a better use of his time, but now he didn't enjoy it half as much.

He didn't even try actually, didn't flirt his way into someones pants.

Usually he'd just send someone a "u up?" text and they'd be at his door in fifteen minutes, sometimes more, sometimes less.

But the thrill of sex was gone, because in the heat of it he'd always hear Han Jisung's voice on the background, or see a flash of disapproving big brown eyes, and then he'd feel guilty or frustrated or just plain sad.

It wasn't a sexual thing, which was sad because Han Jisung was beautiful and he definitely wouldn't mind sleeping with the boy, but it wasn't sexual and Jisung probably hated him so, so much for that. It was more like Jisung was some sort of spirit sitting on his shoulder or inhabiting his mind, telling his right from wrong, and that sex you don't really care about with people you definitely don't care about is definitely on the wrong side of the good-bad spectrum.

It wasn't like he was depressed or anything, just not at his best. Like, he didn't want to kill himself anytime soon, but he didn't really want to do anything else either. His friends clearly noticed though, and they definitely _did_ want to do something about the situation. 

"Okay, Minho Hyung," Hyunjin said one day, "This is an intervention."

They were in Minho and Changbin's room, and Minho noticed that Changbin had locked the door behind and was looking almost worried, a little unsure, and something else Minho couldn't quite place. Hyunjin looked mad, he was standing straight with his arms folded. He was standing in front of the window too, so the light filtered around him making him look like Mufasa in that one really good scene from the Lion King. 

"Okay," Minho said, pulling his blanket higher, "Why?"

"Why?" Hyunjin scoffed, "Why? Because you've basically just been in this room for the past week! All you do is stay inside studying or hooking up, do you even remember the last time you went to class?" Minho rolled his eyes, as if Hyunjin cared about his studies. Changbin sighed and walked over the Minho, sitting at the foot of his bed. "We're just worried about you, dude," he said, "you didn't even go for Kappa Tua Kappa party the day before yesterday - and like, I _know_ they don't throw the best parties but you have a track record for going to _all the parties_ , even the bad ones."

Minho sighed, "I didn't mean to worry you guys or anything," he muttered.

"Well," Hyunjin said, voice softer now, "you did. What happened anyway?" There was silence for a second.

"I don't want to talk about," Minho said simply (and stubbornly), before rolling around on the bed and stuffing his face into his pillow. Hyunjin let out a disappointed groan of "hyung" before clapping his hands together with a loud smack and saying, "Oh I know!" Minho rolled over once again, with a raised eyebrow and expectant eyes, not that he was expecting Hyunjin to be right, but the boy went off on some amusing tangents. 

"Well, spit it out then," Changbin said, face mirroring Minho although there was an element of amusement on there that Minho couldn't quite related to at this exact moment. "GIve me a sec, I'm getting to it," Hyunjing said, waving Changbin off and doing a few quick paces around the foot of Minho's bed.

"Honestly, the longer you take to say it the more I'm sure you have no idea what you're talking abou-"

Hyunjin grinned widely, "you're in love!"

"Huh-"

"With Han Jisung! You're in love with Han Jisung!"

Minho all but spluttered, although no real words came out, it was more like confused blubbering.

Changbin was also confused, albeit the amusement from before was now more prominent than it had been before.

"I'm not in love with Han Jisung!" Minho all but guffawed, throwing off his blanket and sitting upright. He pulled the blanket up around himself again after Changbin and Hyunjin shot him matching doubtful looks, "he just kind of gave me and existential crisis, is all," Minho muttered under his breath. Hyunjin raised his eyebrows, "Hyung, people you don't have feelings for don't just give you existential crises!" Changbin nodded, "particularly people you've just met and have had little to no interaction with," he said.

"Unless it's love at first sight and all that jazz," Hyunjin shrugged.

"I'm really not in love with Han Jisung," Minho groaned. "I mean he's really cute and 10/10 would fuck," he said, earning a disapproving look from Changbin and an understanding nod from Hyunjin. "But trust me," Minho continued, "I'm not _in love_ with him!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Felix you've come up with bad plans before," Jisung said, "but this is by far the worst one."

Felix pouted, "Think about it Sung! This could work!"

"You've always been the most selfless person I've ever known - this is something that's going to help someone," Felix continued, "which is all you've ever wanted, I know that!" He placed an arm on either one of Jisung's shoulders, "Come on, just give it a shot, it'll start of with like, just a date! A single date! And then maybe it'll develop into more and you guys'll be happy with each other and maybe - maybe you'll fall in love with each o-"

"Im not going to _fall in love_ with Lee Minho!" Jisung exclaimed, horrified, "nuh uh, no way, not my type!"

Seungmin, Felix and Jeongin collectively groaned.

Felix scoffed, "Oh come one he's exactly you're type!" Jeongin nodded in agreement, fast and a little exaggerated. Seungmin nodded as well, although a lot calmer than Jeongin had, it was almost sagely. "I hate saying this dude, but Felix is right," he said. not paying mind to the offended gasp Felix let out."Remember you're last boyfriend? He was a fit, frat boy with a creative hobby," Seungmin said, "That is literally Lee Minho - except like the money factor but you of all people should know about making assumptions about people based on their background."

Jisung pouted, folded his legs up against his stomach and nestling his face into his knees. "He was a musician!" He reasoned, "he played guitar! And sang! And he was really, really, hot!" Felix rolled his eyes, "and Minho's a dancer," he said, "dancers and musicians are practically the same." Jisung opened his mouth to disagree but Seungmin beat him to it. "They're not," he said, "but they're similar enough."

He turned to fix his stare on Jisung, "besides, you've dated dancers too - and you don't have to like, or even tolerate, Minho to see he's hot."

"What does my past dating life have to do with this!" Jisung pleaded, "the guy _cheated_ on Chan!"

A beat of silence.

Then Jeongin let out a deep breath. "I know Minho Hyung messed up," he said, eyes peering out of the window looking anywhere but at his friends, of which all three had their eyes glued to him, "and I know Chan Hyung is the last person to deserve anything like this." He closed his eyes, "But..."

Jisung cocked his head to the side when Jeongin didn't continue his sentence. "But?" He asked.

A second beat of silence.

"But," Jeongin said, "everyone deserves a second chance, and a chance for bettering and redemption, and you," he fixed his eyes on Jisung, "you, Jisung Hyung, can be Minho Hyung's chance for bettering, redemption - you could be his second chance!"

Seungmin, Felix and Jisung stared at the younger for a second, before Seungmin and Felix fixed their eyes on Jisung. Their stares held a mix off "how can you say no to this?" and "if you dare say no to this..." - Jisung just held his arms up in surrender. "Fine," he sighed defeatedly, "I don't really know what plan you three have brewing in those heads of yours," he said, "but I'll give it a listen."

In a millisecond, three pairs of excited arms engulfed him and happy sounds filled the room.

Jisung smiled, and then sighed.

He had no idea what they had planned for him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chan wasn't doing as badly as Woojin had expected.

He didn't know if it was because Chan was genuinely over what had happened, or if it was because Chan was ignoring his feelings, shutting them out. All Woojin knew was that he seamed fine, almost unaffected actually, as if he still hadn't quite registered what had happened exactly, not yet.

There was, however, one thing Woojin did know, for absolute sure - and it was that he was very much still in love with Bang Chan. 

Woojin didn't know when, how, or why it happened. He didn't know if it was fate or a cruel joke on god's part when he realised he was in love with his roommate. He didn't know why it happened to him of all people, a decent, fairly average, nice enough person, who hadn't really done anything too wrong - as far as he knew at least. However, once again, there was one thing he knew for sure - and it was that his roommate had no feelings for him whatsoever. 

Woojin wasn't the jealous type, so when Chan came home and announced that he was dating Lee Minho, Woojin hadn't immediately seen red or anything of that sort. He'd simply told Chan he was happy for him, shrugged to himself, and tried to move on - and for a bit, well, a day, he'd convinced himself that he had.

And then Chan had come home crying and wrapped himself up in Woojin's arms, and all the feelings were back and worse than ever.

And then Chan started to go out, and come home late, and get drunk - which were things he'd never done this much, at least as far as Woojin could remember. It scared him, of course he did, it was one thing for Chan to stay up late to finish work, it was another thing altogether when Chan slaved over essays just barely sober at 3 in the morning.

But new disaster struck when Seungmin texted him 9 terrifying words one evening. They were dangerous words, and Woojin didn't know how Seungmin knew, or guessed, or whatever. All Woojin knew was that if what the younger boy was saying turned out to be true then there was going to be a problem. A big ass fucking problem. Because Chan seamed okay, _seamed,_ but Woojin knew him to well to believe any of that, and he loved him too much for him to get more hurt over all of it.

All in all, if what Seungmin said was true - or going to be true - Woojin might have a pretty fucking big problem on his hand.

 

**Kim & Kim**   
**(2 participants)**

**Baby Kim (6:32)**

Hey

Jisung and Lee Minho are going to fall in love

**Big Kim (6:35)**

...

Seungmin

**Baby Kim (6:36)**

yea?

**Big Kim (6:36)**

What the fuck


End file.
